Its over...

Oh Blockbuster online, you have now made yourself an enemy. I have been your devoted customer for now for almost 18 months. I have put up with you sending me broken discs, super scratched media, and in some cases, the wrong thing. I have continued to pay your premium fees, even when you change the terms in the middle, or when one of the best features of your program was almost eliminated. I speak of course of the ability to exchange movies in the store for the ones I got in the mail. I have felt good about our supply/demand relationship despite the 300+ bucks you have cost me. Until this week.

First I get an email telling me that your going to cancel my account. It goes on to explain that am being cancelled because I have reported so many issues with blockbuster media. So according to the email, because of lack of quality media, or the amount of scratches on them rendering them useless, I am going to be penalized.

I call your headquarters and am told that Blockbuster has not given me good customer service and is therefore canceling me. I am told that you are canceling me and investigating my zip code to see if there are other issues in the area, and therefore might be a postal issue. I am told sorry bout that, have a great day.

Here is my question blockbuster online, how is any of this my fault? You rape your customers for a huge amount of money, but never replace old and heavily used discs with new ones. I have a Wal-Mart nearby, and know most of these older movies can be found there.

I call your headquarters again, to ask these very questions. I am amazed at your ability to use security to make sure it is me you are talking to, but am also amazed that your phone operator can hang up on me when he cannot answer my questions. That’s right, he hung up on me. So being the normal consumer I am , I call back, and am again placed on hold until someone drops the line. I assume this is my fault as well, and having reported so many issues with trying to call customer service perhaps I should cancel that option as well.

So here is how I am going to move on blockbuster online. I have already taken screen shots of my waiting list of movies, so I know what I wanted to see. I am going to watch movies that I have here in the binder. I am going to catch up on my Tivo. I might eventually join Netflix to start getting movies again, but I will be damned If I ever put any more money in your pocket.

Especially having gotten this just now.

Hello Ninjamunkey,
Due to problems with your account, we are unable to continue serving you.
Your subscription to blockbuster.com will be cancelled, effective Friday, September 14, 2007. To avoid additional charges, return all DVDs rented online by Sunday, October 14, 2007.

My August

It has been an interesting couple of weeks. I guess I have been so busy with things in general, I have not blogged. Let’s try this quick hit style, and see if I can get everything caught up.

• Not sure if I mentioned this or not, but after 3 weeks of recovery, we decided to take a day trip to Glen Rose, Texas and check out Dinosaur State Park. It’s a cool little area of Texas on the Brazos river, where there are footprints of dinosaurs that are preserved in the limestone edges of the river. What we did not know until we arrived is that the footprints are only visible after a ½ mile hike down loose rock and sand cliffs to the water. I made it all the way down to the river and back up, so I was quite proud.

• While taking my son to his grandparents for a much needed kid free weekend, my mother announced that she had “twisted my back like yours” and could not breath, could not function from the pain. WE rushed her to the ER for medical attention, and found that there was nothing on the X-Rays or MRI, but they gave her some of the strongest medication I have ever heard. I mean, a patch that is used for Cancer patients was given to her. Needless to say, the baby came home with us and the weekend was cancelled.

• Tossed the wiffle ball to the boy day before yesterday, and while I did not attempt to do full speed pitches, or really break off curves, my back has been screaming for the past 2 days. Perhaps that was a bit early. Its hard to tell him I cannot play, and watch him be sad because of it, so I gave in, but perhaps did a little too much.

• I was supposed to have a follow up appointment with my doctor this morning, but last Wednesday, his office called and told me that my doctor was having emergency surgery himself, and would be out for a while. So I guess I got a reprieve from actual PT until next week. I really am ready to get started with it though, as I would like to start getting more range of motion. Time.

• The Mrs got a IM from a man who had done a great deal of online detective work. Turns out that he is the son of her Grandfather’s half brother. Confused yet? Yeah me too. I guess they had the same father and were both walked out on very early in their lives and never really met. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, he found her.

• Friday I turn 32. I would not go back and change anything I have done to this point, except maybe take better care of my back and knees.